Of Monsters and Men
The law in this country is present only in its absence. If the social contract fails to protect women from men who have become monsters, then women have no obligation of loyalty to the state. The state loses its moral legitimacy. Women then must take it upon themselves to dismantle the structure of patriarchy that has forced them to suffer. Whether or not the state helps them.
We Need the Aurat March
Women are marching on the 8th because the numbers don’t lie. Pakistan ranks 164 out of 167 countries in the 2019 Women, Peace and Security Index; it ranks 113 out of 129 in the Sustainable Development Goals Index; it is 6th on the list of countries found most dangerous for women; it has an estimated 12.2 million girls out of school; approximately 1,000 women are murdered every year in the name of “honour”; around 1,000 girls belonging to religious minorities are forcibly converted and forced to marry every year in Sindh; 21% of girls in Pakistan are married before the age of 18.
In a Just World
This isn’t a just world, but the people who blame the victims of criminal actions still seem to be living in a utopia. That would be fine as long as that sort of thinking did no harm. Unfortunately, it gives rise to victim blaming, and because of that, we must dispel it from the minds of people.
Understanding Pakistan’s Sexual Harassment Law
This article is part of a series which will try to answer several questions surrounding the law on sexual harassment in Pakistan. The aim is to allow people to understand what the legal regime on this issue is, how it works, and what needs to change.
This Country Needs Feminism
To dispel myths and stereotypes regarding women crafted over centuries requires a powerful social movement. In a country like ours where women are covertly filmed in universities and blackmailed, that movement is needed more than ever. That movement is feminism, and this country needs it.